How do I know if I have too much testosterone or if it's genetic?!
Question: I'm a 14 year old girl who has hair all over (arms, legs, back, stomach, butt, ect.) and I have lots of acne too, (upper arms, all over back, some on chest, and some on my face). My legs and stomach are the fat areas of my body which make me look fat even though I'm just 95 pounds. My breasts are small too, and my underarms are dark.
Now my dad is very hairy, and I think he has acne but I'm not sure (we both use the same prescription medicine, but my dad says he doesn't have the same acne thing as me.)
But I also have the symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) which are:
>Irregular periods.
>Excess hair.
>Acne.
What's wrong with me? Why can't I just be normal? Every day I cover EVERYTHING on my body when I go to school, I can't even wear short sleeves without being embarrased about my hair (I have acne on my upper arms). I always see all these girls w/ perfect bodies and I just want to feel normal like them. Help..?
Answers: I'm a 14 year old girl who has hair all over (arms, legs, back, stomach, butt, ect.) and I have lots of acne too, (upper arms, all over back, some on chest, and some on my face). My legs and stomach are the fat areas of my body which make me look fat even though I'm just 95 pounds. My breasts are small too, and my underarms are dark.
Now my dad is very hairy, and I think he has acne but I'm not sure (we both use the same prescription medicine, but my dad says he doesn't have the same acne thing as me.)
But I also have the symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) which are:
>Irregular periods.
>Excess hair.
>Acne.
What's wrong with me? Why can't I just be normal? Every day I cover EVERYTHING on my body when I go to school, I can't even wear short sleeves without being embarrased about my hair (I have acne on my upper arms). I always see all these girls w/ perfect bodies and I just want to feel normal like them. Help..?
OMG, what an array of answers you are getting from people that absolutely do not know what they are talking about. Geez.
Yes, you may have PCOS, but this can be taken care of with the proper nutrients. The balance of estrogen and testosterone are regulated by your endocrine system. Taking birth control pills will sometimes address the SYMPTOMS, but not fix the underlying cause. It is the root cause you need to address rather than just doing a drug induced symptom fix that will cause you to be dependent upon them. You can enjoy spending your money on other things I'm sure, rather than some drugs for years.
If you have PCOS, there is a protocol that takes about 2 or 3 weeks to see the results. You have to do the protocol for about a year to completely be rid of the problem, not several years and hope you out grow it thing.
What happens, typically, especially to teenagers in America where good food is almost extinct, is your blood sugar levels go out of whack from all the refined sugars, white flour, hydrogenated oils, and those lovely, colored, and decorated dead foods you get in packages and cans. Along with pasteurized dairy that you are told is protecting you from harm and is causing undue harm to your body.
Once you get the blood sugar under control with a good diet designed to address the blood sugar, you will feel better, have more energy, and lose the cravings for bad foods. After your blood sugar is under control, then and only then can you address the endocrine system and fix the imbalances, but not until you fix the blood sugar issue.
Those people suggesting birth control are correct that it can control the symptoms, but birth control pills interrupt and destroy the body's normal "feed back loop" part of the endocrine system. That is very bad for you and you should never, ever take that garbage. The damage it does to your body is quite amazing and will shorten your life expectancy. They won't tell you that, they are making way too much money on it.
Don't listen to those so called "food experts" either, they are just "hired guns" of the food industry, big corporation marketing army that are all dressed up to look like they know what they are talking about, but just promoting dead, disgusting foods that actually harm your body, like vegetable oils, margarine, white flour, refined sugars, vegetables and fruits grown on chemicalized soils that damage your DNA, etc.
It's very hard to be healthy in America today, but it can be done with some understanding and study. You can become outrageously healthy and strong or a statistic like other Americans. It's your choice. You can e-mail me with specific questions if you like.
good luck to you
Ask your doctor about birth control pills to help you.
o.O
only guys have testosterone..
The best thing you can probably do it go to your obgyn and tell them your concerns. Ask to have you hormones tested and see if you have really high testosterone. If you do than there are things they can do to help counter balance these effects. Nothing is wrong with you, this just happens to be how you were born, but look on the bright side you can fix it if it is just a hormone problem. If you do have PCOS it may be more complicated and you doctor will go over it with you.
Women don't have Testosterone.
males AND females have testosterone-females just have less-you wouldneed a blood test to find out if you have too much-could also be another genetic disaorder-of just normal for your family
Aww don't worry about it too muchh...It may be in the genes depending on if your dad has something similar which may be passed on to you. I'm pretty sure this can be treated. Irregular periods often are the number one cause of acne (because of unadjustable hormone levels) for women. I have something like this; expcept for excess hair on my body. I recently got this checked at a homeopathic clinic and was reccomneded some medicine for a month. Its supposed to make my period back to normal and reduce the amount of oil my skin secretes daily (its alot!!) But only because the secretion of oil in my body is disturbed. I m learning to control my diet: no junk food, more water, and ofcourse, lots of veggies :) I heard accutane was not so bad either...it should match your symptoms...or you can try seeing a doctor about this...overall, don't stress; it makes things worse. Hope this helped...good luck!
p.s: you are normal; atleast your not deformed like some people in this world so be very thankful that you have all your 5 senses and everything :)
and people women too have testosterone; it is produced half in the overies and half in the adrenal glands!!
I'm not sure if you have a high testosterone level or not, one major sign of that would be hair on the face, neck and the chest. Another would be if you have a high sexual appetite, but you're only 14 so I wouldn't be so sure about that.
However, what is more realistic, is that you have "hirsutism" -excessive hair growth in common areas. This can be caused by a hormonal imbalance which is where the PCOS comes into affect.
According to Chinese Face Mapping, since PCOS is dealing with the reproduction area of the body, your breakouts are commonly on the lower cheek to jawline, on the nose and/ or above the top lip.
Oral contraception will help to regulate your cycle and help to a certain degree with the acne, but not very much will be done about the Excessive Hair growth. You can always get waxed, which lasts a lot longer than shaving and is way cheaper than Electrolysis
YOU'LL GET IT TOGETHER... GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The other posters above who say females do not have testosterone are wrong, they in fact do. It is secreted by the ovaries. The level of testosterone is measured by a simple blood test; if you have good health insurance, see any primary care physician who can order a lab test done for you and then you can discuss treatment.
Well, as I was reading this I immediately thought of PCOS and then saw you covered that off as a possibility (I take it that you have irregular periods too?).
It could be heridatry or it could be PCOS. Your best bet would be to go to a doctor and get tested (I believe they can do a blood test to determine if you have PCOS or not...but I'm not sure - I have never been tested). You will also most likely be given the choice to go onto birth control to control the "hairy" situation, irregular periods AND acne (be ready for some moodiness though!! the pill comes with side effects that can last for up to 3 months because our bodies must adjust itself to 1. fake hormones and 2. a different hormone level)
Actually, the treatment for PCOS is androgens for a specific length of time. Androgens are male sex hormones. Supposedly, the hormones make the cysts shrink, also any endometrial tissue that has wandered away from its destined place, your uterus as well as the acne that often accompanies PCOS.
You should discuss this with your doctor. You are probably experiencing strange mood swings , aggression and unusual feelings.
Take heart! This will only be temporary.
Please take care.